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Islam is a minority religion in Venezuela. There are approximately 100,000Muslims in Venezuela which make up 0.4 percent of the nation's population.[1]Venezuela has a small but influentialMuslim population. Many of them areArabs ofLebanese,Palestinian,Syrian andTurkish descent.[2]
The capital cityCaracas has a Muslim population of 15,000. The Mosque of Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim in Caracas is the second largest mosque inLatin America. Located in a rapidly changing area of the city, this historicmosque features a dome,minaret and portal to signal its presence in the urban landscape, and devices such as the octagonal hall rising up from a platform to a circular dome to achieve the transition between the street and the interior of the prayer hall. It was constructed with funds from the Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz Al-Ibrahim Foundation under the planning of architectOscar Bracho. Other notable mosques and Islamic organisations include theIsla Margarita-Caribe La Comunidad Islámica Venezolana, Centro Islámico de Venezuela, theMezquita al-Rauda inMaracaibo, theAsociación Honorable Mezquita de Jerusalén inValencia,Centro Islámico de Maiquetía inVargas, and theAsociación Benéfica Islámica inBolívar. There is also a mosque inPunto Fijo built in 2008.[citation needed]
Margarita Island in particular is home to a sizeableArab Muslim community. The local cable television outlets telecast channels likeal-Jazeera;LBC Sat, a Lebanese channel; and more recently,MBC andART, twoSaudi Arabian channels. Women wearinghijab generally work as till operators. On most shop counters,Quranicverses are on display. Muslims here are mainly involved in retail businesses as well as banks and travel agencies.
On 11 February 2006, around 200 (mainly Muslim) protesters marched to the Danish embassy in Caracas, and burnt Danish and U.S. flags as protestsover cartoons ofMuhammad spread toLatin America.[3]
On 20 July 2006, dozens of people marched inCaracas towards the Israeli embassy to protestagainst the war in Lebanon. Most of them were Venezuelan Muslims, but some were members of pro-government organisations.[4]
Religious Institutions:-
| Institutions | Type | Location | Branch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ibrahim Al Ibrahim Mosque | Mosque | Caracas,Capital District | Hanbali |
| Islamic Center of Venezuela | Islamic Center | Caracas, Capital District | Shafi |
| Imam Al Hadi Islamic Center | Islamic Center | Caracas, Capital District | Shiaism |
| Venezuelan Islamic Community | Caracas, Capital District | ||
| Al-Rauda Mosque | Mosque | Maracaibo,Zulia | |
| Islamic Association of the Palestine Mosque | Mosque | El Limón-Maracay,Aragua | |
| Honorable Association of the Jerusalem Mosque | Mosque | Valencia,Carabobo | |
| Islamic Center of Maiquetía | Islamic Center | Maiquetía,La Guaira | |
| Islamic Charity Association | Bolívar | ||
| Islamic Center of the South | Islamic Center | El Tigre,Anzoátegui | |
| Islamic Palestinian Center | Islamic Center | Coro,Falcón | |
| Punto Fijo Mosque | Mosque | Punto Fijo, Falcón | |
| Islamic Community of Venezuela | Margarita,Nueva Esparta | ||
| Honorable Association of the Omar ben al-Khattab Mosque | Mosque | San Felipe,Yaracuy |
| Argentina |
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| Suriname |
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| Venezuela | |
